When the final main stage jam ends each evening and the temperature drops, Telluride Bluegrass moves indoors to the cozy concert halls of Telluride and nearby Mountain Village. These are the up-close-and-personal moments where surprise musical guests stand waiting in the crowd next to you and the late-night energy in the room is visible in the smiles of every Festivarian.

For weeks the Festivarian Forum has been abuzz with talk of NightGrass. You've sleuthed, you've surmised, you've shared your wishlists. We've taken it all in, talked to many an artist, and set out to build another epic NightGrass series...

From Yonder Mountain String Band's 10th annual kick-off party at the top of the gondola in Mountain Village to Punch Brothers festival finale in the Sheridan Opera House on Sunday night, NightGrass complements and builds on the sounds of the festival's main stage. From jamgrass and newgrass to indie-folk and singer-songwriters these shows allow artists to stretch out, be even more adventurous, and bring freewheeling jams to a welcoming room of devoted festivarians. Here's the full 2011 NightGrass schedule...

The wealth of music in Telluride this June led us to add an additional venue to this year's NightGrass: the Palm Theater. This gorgeous, stage-of-the-art concert hall is located on the west edge of town (an easy walk down Colorado Ave or serviced by free festival shuttles).

In addition to the artists you're already familiar with from the main festival lineup, this year's NightGrass welcomes two additional bands. Colorado jamgrassers Head for the Hills(video) blew us away in our Wildflower Pavilion (and count Billy Nershi and Drew Emmitt among their many fans). Passionate London-based indie-folk quintet Matthew & the Atlas(video) have built an international buzz sharing stages with their pals Mumford & Sons (and ruling our office stereo for the past few weeks).

Due to the unprecedented demand for this year's shows, we will be selling tickets for the 2 most intimate venues (Sheridan and Fly Me to the Moon) via an online lottery on Thursday, April 21. Find all the lottery details at bluegrass.com.

All other shows (Conference Center and Palm) will go onsale on Tuesday, April 26 at 9am MDT online-only at shop.bluegrass.com. As a reminder: NightGrass tickets are completely separate from festival passes; and unlike festival passes, NightGrass tickets are non-refundable.

If you still haven't purchased your Telluride Bluegrass Festival tickets, Thursday single-day tickets are still available to enjoy Sarah McLachlan; Steve Earle; Sam, Béla, Jerry, Edgar, Bryan, and Stuart in the Telluride House Band; the special festival opening set from Tim O'Brien and Kevin Burke; and much more. We've still got lots more TBF news to share in the coming weeks, including the Elks Park workshop schedule, the free FirstGrass concert in Mountain Village, our Telluride Troubadour finalists, the family area, and much more.

There goes that crazy phrase again: "sold-out." Friday single-day tickets for RockyGrass sold-out last week, leaving just a few handfuls of Sunday single-day tickets left for RockyGrass. If you're hoping to join us for our late-July celebration of traditional bluegrass along the St. Vrain River in Lyons, order your tickets and camping while you still can – 800-624-2422 or shop.bluegrass.com. We expect the entire festival to be sold-out in just a few more days.

We're just about a week away from the announcement of the complete single-day lineup for the 21st Annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival and the release of single-day tickets. If you haven't checked out the current lineup in the last few weeks, it's well worth a minute of your time (nudge, nudge).

With the beginning of festival season less than 2 months away, soundtrack your Telluride daydreaming with free streams of the upcoming albums from Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle courtesy of our friends at NPR. It's time to start digging out your tarp and tent, learning a few new campground tunes, and planning for a NightGrass show or two. It's going to be a special summer.